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Note: Not all these funds will necessarily land in the state or nation where the mining occurs. Mine owners may divert the profits to parent companies in other locations, for example. Amounts also include the cost of transportation.

Indianapolis, Indiana. The cost of importing coal is a drain on Indiana’s economy, which relies heavily on coal-fired power. Investments in energy efficiency and home-grown renewable energy can help stimulate the economy by redirecting funds into local economic development—funds that would otherwise leave the state.

m=million

$89m

$608m

$89m

$0.1m

$139m

$261m

$56m

$43m$

Money Leaving indiana to Pay for imported CoalCompared with other states, indiana:• Importedthe8thmost

innetweight:27.7 milliontons

• Spentthe9thmostontotalnetimports:$1.14billion

• Spentthe9thmostonnetimportsperperson:$178

• Spentthe9thmostonnetimportsrelativetogrossstateproduct:0.45percent

The cost of importing coal is a major drain on the economies of many states that rely heavily on coal-fired power. Thirty-eight states were net importers

of coal in 2008, from other states and, increasingly, other nations. Burning Coal, Burning Cash ranks the states that are the most dependent on imported coal. This fact sheet shows the scale of this annual drain on Indiana ratepayers, and discusses ways to keep more of that money in-state through investments in energy efficiency and homegrown renewable energy. Indiana imported a little more than half the coal it used in 2008—some from as far away as Montana and Wyoming. To pay for that coal, Indiana sent $1.29 billion out of state. In-state mines not only supplied the rest of Indiana’s coal but also exported coal worth $151 million to other states. Indiana spent a net $1.14 billion on imported coal. Duke Energy Indiana, the state’s largest provider of elec-tricity services, purchased $723 million in coal imports—more than half the state’s gross total, and more than any other Indiana power producer. The utility’s Gibson Station, near Princeton, is also the most import-dependent power facility in Indiana, having spent $416 million in 2008. The plant is the fourth-largest source of carbon dioxide emis-sions (the main cause of global warming) among hundreds of coal plants nationwide.

Burning Coal, Burning Cash

Indiana’s Dependence on Imported Coal

Photos (top to bottom): Thinkstock; iStockphoto.com/Veni; Photodisc

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CitizensandScientistsforEnvironmentalSolutions

This fact sheet is based on the findings of Burning Coal, Burning Cash: Ranking the States That Import the Most Coal, a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The fully referenced report, along with other state profiles, is available on the UCS website at www.ucsusa.org/burningcoalburningcash.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and safer world.

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© May 2010 Union of Concerned Scientists

Clean energy Solutions Can Boost indiana’s energy independenceInvesting in energy efficiency is one of the quickest and most affordable ways to replace coal-fired power while boosting the local economy. Yet Indiana spent just 64 cents per person on ratepayer-funded electricity efficiency programs in 2007—about 280 times less than it spent per person on net coal imports. Fortunately, the state has recently adopted an energy efficiency resource standard. Utilities must achieve annual cuts in electricity demand that start at 0.3 percent in 2010 and ramp up to 2 percent by 2019. Twenty-two other states have adopted such power-saving targets, with several committing to annual savings of 2 percent or more. Indiana can also reduce its dependence on imported coal by tapping its own wealth of renewable energy resources. The state has the technical potential to generate four times its 2008 electricity needs from renewable energy—primarily from its robust wind and bioenergy resources. Though economic and physical barriers will curb some of that potential, Indiana has already made progress in using renewables. Indiana brought more than 900 megawatts of wind energy online in 2009—posting one of the fastest growth rates in the nation. The Fowler Ridge wind facility in Benton County, one of the world’s largest wind projects, accounted for two-thirds of that new capacity. Besides supplying the state with clean, local power, Fowler Ridge employs 51 full-time operations and maintenance staff, and provides added income for some 300 local farmers and landowners. The state could spur its economy and reduce its reliance on imported coal even more by adopting a renewable electricity standard, which requires utilities to gradually increase their use of renew- able resources. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have adopted this effective and affordable policy.

Indiana has excellent potential for developing in-state renewable energy resources, which can help reduce the state’s depen-dence on imported coal while creating jobs and other economic benefits. The state posted one of the nation’s fastest growth rates for wind power development in 2009.

Indiana relies on coal for more than 94 percent of its in-state electricity generation—more than any other state we profiled. Indiana produces 21 percent more electricity than its retail customers buy. That means in-state coal plants export some of their power.

* “Other” includes oil, municipal solid waste, tires, propane, or other manufactured and waste gases from fossil fuel.

indiana’s Mix of electricity Sources (2008)

Hydroelectric0.3%

Natural Gas2.8%

Non-hydro Renewables

0.4%Other*2.2%

Coal94.2%

Photos (top to bottom): Photodisc; NREL

i n d i a n a ’ S d e P e n d e n C e o n i M P o r t e d C o a L